Bey is the Turkish word for "chieftain," traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled bey, beg or beigh. They are all the same word with the simple meaning of "leader." The regions or provinces where beys ruled or which they administered were called beylik, roughly meaning "emirate" or "principality" in the first case, "province" or "governorate" in the second. Today, the word is used as a social title for men (like the English word "mister")

Turkish beys

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The first three rulers of the young Ottoman state, which started out as one of a dozen Turkish beyliks into which Anatolia had been divided by the break up of the Seldjuk sultanate of Ikonion (Konya) and the military demise of the christian Byzantine empire, with its capital in Brussa, had been 1336 only annexed the beylik of Karasy, its western neighbour on the coast of the Sea of Marmara, were titled bey and not sultan. Murad I was granted the right to the designation "sultan" by the shadow caliph in Cairo in 1383, during a series of successful military campaigns that would unite Anatolia around 1390 and advance on the Balkans, creating the Ottoman Empire, which crowned its continuous expansion in 1453 with the annexation of Constantinople, by the a Byzantine city state.

Henceforth "bey" came to be applied to subordinate officers, such as a military governor (especially sanjakbey, called after a military banner; compare vali) or district commissioner in part of an Ottoman vilayet or province. With the loose Ottoman structure, important provinces tended to become self-sustaining and autonomous. In the following century the chiefs of Bursa and of Edirne both were designated "Bey."

Soon the title was devaluated, as Pasha was established as a higher distinction, bey even was used a courtsey title (alongside Pashazada) for a Pasha's son. The title bey came to be attached to offices below those entitled to be Pashas, notably the following military officer ranks (still lower ranks were merely styled Effendi):

• Miralai (army Colonel or navy Captain)
• Kaimakam (army Lieutenant-colonel or navy Commander)

Remarkably the compound Bey Effendi was part of the title of a husband (full style Damad-i-Shahyari (given name) Bey Effendi) and sons (full style Sultanzada (given name) Bey-Effendi) of an Imperial Princess, and their sons were entitled to the courtesy title Beyzade (literally 'son of a bey', so curiously restricted); for the grandsons of an imperial princess, the official style was simply Bey after the name.

By the late 19th century, "Bey" had been reduced to an honorary equivalent of the English-speaking address (not the British courtesy title) "Sir" in Ottoman Turkey, parallel to the contemporary Cockney usage "guv'nor." In modern Turkish, and in Azerbaijan, the word "bey" simply means "mister" (compare Effendi) or Sir and is used in the meaning of "chieftain" only in historical context. As with most Turkish titles, it follows the name rather than precede as in western languages, e.g. "Ahmet Bey" for "Mister Ahmet."

Under Ottoman rule the title was used also in Albania (Albanian language: bej, be, or beu), in two forms:

• in the Gheg north as a title given specifically to the officials of the Ottomans empire.
• in the Tosk south it was not only used in a similar fashion, but the main use of the name came to be Bey of the Village; the mayoral "beys" in Tosk villages formed a wealthy but largely illiterate elite, exploiting the peasants who were bound to the land in a status comparable to serfdom, a state of affairs continued in the Tosk districts even after Albanian independence 1912, as King Zog took power and forbade the "Beys" to mistreat the peasants.

This term is not used anymore in Albania except when referring to historical figures, events or for humorous purposes (meaning to joke about someone who does not possess a clear thinking ability). Nevertheless, a select number of families still use the bey-ending in their last names. It is often cited as tribute to past lines. However, the name is generally associated with the Çabej line of Albania.

Beys elsewhere

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The title bey could be maintained as a similar office within Arab states that broke away from the High Porte, such as Khedive Mehmet Ali's Egypt, where it was a rank below Pasha (maintained in two rank classes after 1922), and a title of courtesy for a Pasha's son.

Even much earlier, the virtual sovereign's title in Barbaresque North African 'regency' states was "Bey"; compare Dey. Notably in Tunis, the Husainid Dynasty used a whole series of title and styles including bey:

• just Bey itself was part of the territorial title of the ruler, and also as a title used by all male members of the family (rather like Suktan in the Ottoman dynasty).
• Bey al-Kursi 'Bey of the Throne', a term equivalent to reigning prince.
• Bey al-Mahalla 'Bey of the Camp', title used for the next most senior member of the Beylical family after the reigning Bey, the Heir Apparent to the throne.
• Bey al-Taula 'Bey of the Table', the title of the Heir Presumptive, the eldest prince of the Beylical family, who enjoyed precedence immediately after the Bey al-Mahalla.
• Beylerbeyi (or Beglerbegi) 'Lord of Lords', was the administrative rank formally enjoyed by the ruler of Tunis and by rulers of parts of the Balkans in their official capacity of Ottoman Governor-General within the Turkish empire.

Other Beys saw their own beylik promoted to statehood, e.g.:

• in Qusantina (Constantine in French), an Ottoman district subject to the Algiers regency since 1525 (had its own Beys since 1567), the last incumbent, Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif (b. c.1784, in office 1826 - 1848, d. 1850), was maintained when in 1826 the Local Kabyle population declared independence, and when in was on 13 October 1837 conquered by France, until it was in 1848 incorporated into Algeria

Bey or a variation has also been used as an aristocratic title in various Turkic states, such as bäk in the Tatar Khanate of Kazan, in charge of a beylik called bäklek.

Sometimes a bey was a territorial vassal within a khanate, as in each of the three zuzes under the Khan of the Khazaks.

The variation Beg, Baig or bai (pronounced as "buy"), is still used as a family name or a part of a name in South and Central Asia as well the Balkans. In Slavic-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic -ov/-ović/ev suffixes meaning "son of", such as in Izetbegović, Abai Kunanbaev (Abai Kunanbaiuli).

See also

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• Anatolian beyliks
• Atabeg
• Beylerbey
• Chughtai
• Dey
• Ottoman titles
• Baig
• Begum
• Baig Origins

Sources and references

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• Encyclopaedia of the Orient
• RoyalArk on (khedival) Egypt & Tunisia & on Ottoman Turkey
• Westermann Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (in German)
• WorldStatesmen- click on each present country

Gubernatorial titles | Heads of state | Military ranks | Monarchy | Noble titles | Ottoman Empire | Positions of subnational authority | Titles of national or ethnic leadership | Words of Turkish Origin

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